


Delicate

by wyattnash



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, canon adjacent, lopaz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-15 00:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21024926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyattnash/pseuds/wyattnash
Summary: Toni and Veronica were dealing with a lot more than they'd bargained for entering into the last half of their junior year.





	Delicate

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I figured it would feel better as chaptered work. So voila. Enjoy

Toni Topaz never gave much thought to a life post Cheryl. The very idea of assuming a relationship might come to an end someday was far too depressing. Through ups and downs, the thought never actually occurred to her until one day it actually happened. She hadn’t meant to set everything into motion. It all just kind of snowballed out of her control. All she had wanted was space, but Cheryl was Cheryl and that was one thing she was more than familiar with. It didn’t take very long for the whole school to know the relationship had ended. Toni was on the mailing list of Cheryl’s student wide chain email after all. She had read the words herself as she sat outside her uncle’s trailer still trying to work up the courage to ask for a place to stay for the night. She had a duffle filled with her belongings. She had scrambled to find everything she could before rushing out of Thistlehouse before Cheryl got home, and Toni was well aware she may have left a few things behind in her grand exit.

It had been weeks since then. She had been berated at every musical rehearsal as though she never meant anything to the girl she had loved, and still loved despite it all. It wasn’t fair. Nothing ever was in Toni’s life anyway. She didn’t have parents. She lost all her friends, and now her girlfriend hated her.

Maybe it was a misstep to act out in the way she had. It most definitely was but at this point nobody could kick her any lower than she already was.

At first, she felt anxious stepping foot into the halls of Riverdale High, head to toe dressed in red as though she was cosplaying as a giant red flag. She knew Cheryl wouldn’t like it. She would take it personally and after everything Toni had been put through lately, she felt like the girl might deserve a little pettiness in return.

It was just clothing after all. It wasn’t as though she was walking around school spreading rumours or treating her like the help. That wasn’t her speed.

At first she felt as though nobody cared what she was wearing and that was most definitely an accurate description of the students who she had walked past. The only person who seemed to care was the creepy farmie girl Toni wanted nothing to do with. She locked eyes with Eveyln who simply smiled back at her. It made Toni squirm. She turned her head and wandered down another corner to visit her locker.

She checked to see what books she needed for her classes and shifted them to the front, so it was easier to grab and go when the bell finally sounded.

She turned her head to the sound of a bubble gum bubble bursting. “Hey.” She smiled as she slammed her locker shut.

“What’s with the outfit?” Peaches asked with a raised brow.

Toni chuckled, nervous energy evaporating out of her. She felt better being around the one familiar face she still had in her life. “Don’t even ask.” She told her, stepping away from the lockers to walk down the hall with her.

They made it to the end of the hallway when Peaches was flagged down by a teacher, wanting to tell her off for chewing gum during school hours.

Toni watched in amusement for a moment before her attention was stolen by another classmate who had a question regarding the choreography she had been teaching.

“Um, did you have a lobotomy for breakfast?” Cheryl demanded as she marched up behind her.

Toni let out an agitated sigh. For a moment there she had forgotten all about her petty plan to ruffle Cheryl’s feathers.

She turned around expecting to get a tongue lashing and she most certainly did not expect anything less from the fiery red head.

“You’re wearing my signature colour!” Cheryl said when her eyes finally met with Toni’s.

“You don’t own the colour red. Red existed before you.” Toni said, matching the other girl’s tone. She knew it was a mistake but there was no point in backing out now. She wasn’t a quitter.

Cheryl wasn’t having it. A history lesson was something she wasn’t in the mood for. Her eyes narrowed only slightly to avoid losing eye contact. “Not at Riverdale High. Here I invented red. I am red.” She informed her former girlfriend in a venomous rage.

The click of her fingers was what sold this performance. Toni didn’t know what to expect as two girls she barely recognised stepped either side of the red head. She wanted to look anywhere else, and to just walk away but Cheryl would have only followed or yelled after her. She knew this was her own doing and she needed to stay put and endure whatever it was Cheryl needed to get off her chest.

“Sorry,” Cheryl said, not sounding sorry at all, “this school’s not big enough for both of us, faux-Pink Lady.”

That one hurt.

It was once used as a term of affection.

The summer they motorcycled across country; Cheryl had called Toni her Pink Lady. Now that was being thrown back into her face, and a part of her felt like maybe she deserved it. Maybe this was what she needed to hear.

“And I was here first.” Cheryl said sternly.

Toni watched her and wondered how they ended up here. She didn’t ask for this. All she wanted was some space to breathe, maybe her own room, her own interests. This wasn’t how this story was supposed to end.

Cheryl’s voice changed into her best impression of sweet, only this lacked sincerity entirely. “So, go to Centreville High, or Westerberg.” She advised the smaller girl.

Toni didn’t want to uproot her life over a girl, but the scene Cheryl was making really made her consider it.

“I don’t care.” Cheryl said as her menacing tone and expression returned just as quickly as it had disappeared. She stepped forward, eyes narrowed, heels hitting the floor as she moved closer. “But you have until first bell Monday to clear every trace of yourself out of these halls. Copy?”

Toni stared back at her. On the outside she matched Cheryl’s ferocity, but on the inside, she felt like weeping. Nobody had seen her cry, not even Cheryl. Today that wasn’t going to change.

With one single hair flip, Cheryl was gone.

Toni glared at Evelyn who scurried off to follow after the demon queen herself, leaving Toni standing there wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

As students dispersed in varied directions Toni took that as her cue to rush off herself. She didn’t want to witness people gossiping about her which she knew would only take a matter of minutes before everyone knew about it.

The idea of transferring to another school seemed more and more appealing with every rushed step she took. She made a beeline toward the auditorium. She just needed a private space to think. The lights were mostly turned off so she assumed she was all alone when she walked across the stage.

The slight sound of sniffling gave her a slight fright. She turned to look out across the room and saw Veronica sitting alone in the dark. “V? Are you okay?” She asked, stepping down from the stage to go and check on her.

Admittedly seeing Veronica cry this way made her own emotions all the more eager to escape. She let out a shaky breath as she approached the other girl.

“Is this about your parents?” She questioned gently, pressing her back up against a row of theatre chairs.

Veronica ran her finger across her face, wiping away a stray tear that hadn’t been given a chance to fall just yet. She felt as though her heart was going to explode and having Toni there to witness it just made her feel even more pathetic. “No. Not entirely.” She whispered, looking up at the other girl. She didn’t attempt to smile because she already knew it would make her burst into tears a lot faster than the last time.

“You want to talk about it?” Toni asked, figuring she wouldn’t but it was nice to ask regardless. The truth was this made it easy for her to ignore her own problems and for that she was almost grateful.

Veronica shook her head. “Not really.” She admitted, watching Toni who looked as glum as she felt.

“That’s okay. I’ll leave you to it then.” She responded, pushing herself up into a standing position so she could leave Veronica to her privacy.

“Toni?” Veronica whispered as the other girl turned away from her.

Toni looked down at Veronica with a gentle smile. “Yeah?” She asked softly.

“You can sit down if you want.” Was all Veronica said.

Toni watched her for half a second before she moved to the empty seat beside her.

Neither girl said anything.

There was some kind of comfort in the silence that made both of them feel not quite so alone.


End file.
